Escaping The End
by wordsfromthefeatherquill
Summary: Instead of avoiding her, Tony speaks to Hannah on his doorstep altering her plan. Could it really be that easy? Can one simple change in the story, rewrite Hannah's life forever? Clay/Hannah Tony/Brad
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why.**

 **Italics are Hannah's thoughts and this is based on the TV show, rather than the book.**

* * *

As the warm October breeze carried Hannah from the centre of town through the neighboring streets, she could not help but stare into the windows of every house she passed. _An old couple watching a black and white TV, a family sat around the dinner table, a small boy playing with his toys on the living room floor._ For reasons she would never forget, that familiar feeling overcame her once more. _Loneliness._

Her mind cast back to the Crestmont where she had been moments before. After dropping off her uniform, she had one place left to visit. He filled her mind for a second. The image of a dark haired young man filling up the popcorn machine as she placed her uniform on the counter. Shaking her head, as if to release the memory, she paced around the next corner.

The second house on the left, a small bungalow with a moss coloured front door. She had arrived at her destination. Opening her rucksack, she pulled out a shoe box wrapped in brown paper and set it down on the doorstep.

The seed had been planted and Hannah was ready for what was coming next. She turned on the heel of her foot and walked back down the cobbled pathway that led to Tony's house. _There is only one thing left now…_

It was then she heard Tony's front door open. "Hannah?" followed his voice.

 _Shit,_ was all she could think. This was not the plan. _Just keep walking…_ Her strides grew larger as she picked up speed.

"Hey… Hannah?" Tony repeated, this time it was louder.

She continued to ignore him and retreated faster. She had managed to cross the road before Tony had caught up with her. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder which made Hannah jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Did you not hear me calling?" Hannah shrugged at Tony's question. Tony scanned her face and continued, "you left this on my doorstep, is it for me?" He held up a shoebox. Hannah's eyes darted to the box then back to the floor.

Tony persevered, "a gift for moi…" he smirked "whatever could it be?" He started to tear at the wrapping.

"STOP!" Hannah bellowed which startled Tony enough to stop him from removing the wrapping.

She cleared her throat and began speaking in a much quieter tone, "you shouldn't do that here. Just go home and open it there." She turned away from Tony, ready to finish her journey. Silently praying that he would take her advice and leave, she squeezed her hands into fists and began walking again.

But she was not so lucky… this time Tony grabbed her shoulder and spun her around to face him. "Hannah, what's going on?"

Avoiding his gaze, she sighed, "just go home and listen to the tapes Tony."

"Tapes? What are you going on about? There are tapes in here," he shook the box and the tapes rattled back, "have you made me a mix tape Miss Baker?" He chucked, attempting to add some light to this rather puzzling conversation.

There was no reaction. No impending smile. No small giggle. Not even the usual shove that followed one of Tony's appalling jokes.

"Okay… something's definitely up, that's one of my best ones yet!" He caught her eye and noticed they looked glazed over. "Come to mine, I'll make you something to drink and we can have a ch-"

"I'm fine Tony, I have to… well, my parents will be wondering where I am." Her balled fists were now becoming clammy.

Tony raised an eyebrow, "have you got a shift today?"

She scrunched her brow in confusion, "no I haven't… why?"

"I was at your parent's pharmacy about half an hour ago. They were raving about how they are open later now and that the shop was open for another few hours. Your dad seemed pretty confident it was going to help the business, told me to pass on the news to my family and friends."

Hannah rolled her eyes, "of course he did…"

Tony placed both hands on Hannah's shoulders, forcing her to look at him. "Look, I know you aren't going to see your parents. You seem upset and I know it sounds dumb but my mother would kill me if I let you leave here unhappy. Please give me the chance to try to cheer you up? You don't even have to tell me what's wrong. We can just watch TV or I could take you for a ride. Anything you want. What do you say?"

Hannah looked into Tony's eyes, maybe for longer than she had realised because his grip began to loosen. "I just thought-"

"No, it's fine. I'll hang out… for a bit." And for the first time, in what felt like a lifetime, Hannah smiled.

* * *

Hannah bit down hard on the inside of her cheek. A nervous habit, her mother had always told her. It was also the reason most children at her middle school gave her the nickname _Vampire_.

They had moved to California for a fresh start. On one of her first days at Liberty High, she bit down so hard on her cheek that she had to see the nurse who assumed she had lost a tooth.

Tony broke her out of the memory by placing a steaming mug on the coffee table in front of her. "Here's your coco."

Tony sat down next to Hannah on the sofa, "so what would you like to do… our cable has been playing up recently but I could see what's on?" He picked up the remote and flicked through the channels.

Quietly she spoke, "I don't mind just sitting here."

"Then here we shall sit!" Tony exclaimed and took a swig from his own mug. "Shit, that's hot!"

A small smile spread across Hannah's face, "well that's usually what the steam indicates."

"All right, all right," Tony noticed her smile and grinned himself. "So… these tapes…" he grabbed the box from the coffee table. Hannah drew a sharp breath as Tony asked, "is this why you wanted that tape recorder?"

 _Could I tell him?_ Hannah averted Tony's questioning look and did not answer.

"Is there… music on these?"

Silence.

"Did you record your own music or something? I didn't think you were into that."

"No, there's not music on them," her voice resembled that of a mouse.

Tony was confused; he looked back and forth between Hannah and the box in his hands. "Okay…"

"Just listen to them once… once I go."

"Why can't I listen to them now?" He asked.

She bit down on her cheek again, willing herself to look at Tony, "I shouldn't be here when you listen to them. That's not the way… it should be."

"The way what should be? Why are you being so cryptic, what are you hiding from me?" Hannah became mesmerised by the mug of coco in front of her. "Hannah, we're friends aren't we?" Still no reaction. "Is there something you can't tell me?"

Finally, she nodded. "And these tapes can?" He questioned and slowly, she nodded again. "Then I am listening to them now-"

"No please," Hannah interrupted and jumped to her feet. "I'll go." She grabbed her bag and sneakers.

"You go if you want, I am still listening to them." Tony was now on his feet too and heading for the kitchen. Hannah was torn, _should I stop him? Should I just run and not look back?_

Placing her belongings back on the floor, she followed him into the kitchen and found that he had already opened the box. He counted the tapes and looked at Hannah, his eyes wide. "It's a long story, huh?"

"Tony, please stop. Forget about them, I'll take them home." She lunged for the box but Tony held it above her head.

"No way," his Walkman in one hand and the box in the other, he took a step back from Hannah. "You left them on my doorstep; I am going to listen to them." He placed the box back on the counter, carefully watching Hannah out of the corner of his eye. He pulled out a cassette with a blue number '1' written on it.

Once he had slid the cassette into his Walkman, Hannah bolted from the house.

She had to get home. _Now_.

* * *

Hannah was about two blocks from Tony's house when she heard the roar of an engine. _Don't look back, keep running, don't look back._ But Hannah was not Usain Bolt and Tony was driving a mustang.

He pulled up next to her and rolled down his window, his expression effectively reflecting his mood. "What the fuck Hannah? Get in the car."

Slowing down to a fast paced walk, she looked over at Tony. "Get in the car." He repeated, a lot calmer than before. She halted and let her head fall backwards, weighing her options. "Please Hannah? I will help you."

Hannah met Tony's eyes again. He had never noticed before but there was something different about her. Not her new short haircut but something else. She felt smaller somehow, further away.

"I promise." And he meant it.

She leant forward for the handle on the passenger side door, through the window she could see her sneakers and rucksack in the foot well of Tony's car. She opened the door, "I thought you might like your shoes" Tony gave her a warm smile.

As she fell into the seat, she noticed for the first time that she was only in her socks; she slipped on her sneakers and thanked Tony.

"But… how are you going to help me Tony?" Hannah's voice was beginning to quaver and Tony noticed.

He cleared his throat in attempt to push down the lump that was forming, "First, I'm going to tell you that you mean more to me than you think. I know I'm right when I say that a lot of people will feel that way too, Hannah." He paused and smiled in Hannah's direction. Tears had begun rolling down her cheeks.

"Second, I'm going to listen to these tapes and… and I would like it if you would join me. I understand if you'd rather not-"

"That might be a good idea." Her voice was so quiet that it was surprising Tony had heard her but he definitely heard her loud enough.

"Oh, you should know by now Hannah…" Turning his key in the ignition, he continued "good ideas are my specialty!" He laughed as they drove off into the setting sun, further into the looming night.

 _What a night this will be…_ Hannah thought as she focused on the road ahead. _Is it really that easy?_

* * *

 **And that is the first chapter! What do you think?**

 **I am thinking of continuing this story by having Tony and Hannah listening to the tapes together. Each chapter will be one side of a tape and Tony will help Hannah overcome the problems mentioned within said side. If you like this idea, please review and let me know :)**

 **Also I wanted to add, I am not American. I am from the South of England so if some of the terms I have mentioned in this chapter are more English than American, I can only apologise!**

 **That's all this time folks, thanks for taking the time to read my first fanfiction! I am eager to continue this story so any feedback you have, good or bad, is really appreciated.**

 **Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!**


	2. Chapter 2

**I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why. I'm borrowing the story and characters from Jay Asher.**

 **Thoughts are in italics.**

* * *

"So thank you, Justin. Sincerely. My very first kiss was wonderful. And for the month or so that we lasted, and everywhere that we went, the kisses were wonderful. You were wonderful.

But then you started bragging.

A week went by and I heard nothing. But eventually, as they always will, the rumours reached me. And everyone knows you can't disprove a rumour.

I know. I know what you are thinking. As I was telling the story, I was thinking the same thing myself. A kiss? A rumour based on a kiss made you do this to yourself?"

Tony glanced towards the distressed teenager sitting in the passenger seat of his car and asked himself the same question. Hannah was hugging her knees tightly to her chest, staring blankly ahead.

"No. A rumor based on a kiss ruined a memory that I hoped would be special. A rumor based on a kissed started a reputation that other people believed in and reacted to. And sometimes, a rumor based on a kiss has a snowball effect.

A rumor, based on a kiss, is just the beginning.

Turn the tape over for more.

And Justin, honey, stick around. You're not going to believe where your name pops up next."

With a click from his car stereo, the tape was over and silence overcame the car.

Here they were, sitting in Tony's mustang at Eisenhower Park, directly in front of the slide from the story. Tony watched as Hannah's eyes glued themselves to it.

Tony gently broke the silence, "we can go somewhere else if you want?"

At first Hannah did not respond. Pulling her eyes from the slide, she looked at Tony. "He's going to get these tomorrow – Justin. I've already mailed them to him."

"What do you mean? There are two sets of tapes?"

Hannah could not believe it had got this far. She should be… well, she should be at her house by now.

 _Can I really lie anymore?_

 _K_ nowing she had to come clean, her breathing became erratic.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself. "These are the second set because… you're not on the tapes, Tony." Her sweaty palm clasped at the door handle for support. "You're just the only one I trusted to see through my… final wishes, I suppose."

Tony was in disbelief. The words fell out of his mouth, "you trusted me enough to see through your final wishes but you couldn't trust me enough to tell me what was going on? Hannah, this is serious. This is real serious stuff."

"I… I-I-"

But he could not hold it any longer, everything burst out of his mouth in a rush. "I thought we were friends, we speak to each other at school and during study hall. I invited you to sit with me at lunch last week," Tony reached for Hannah's hand but seeing it coming, she placed her hands together and began looking out the passenger window.

He stopped, "well I would miss you, Hannah. That's all I'm trying to say."

He sat back into his seat; it was beginning to get dark outside. "What about Clay?"

Hannah did not move and continued to stare out the window, "what about him?" Her breath fogged up the glass in front of her.

"You work together, don't you? I thought you were friends-"

"Clay Jenson hates me."

Tony scoffed and she turned her head towards him. Her expression must've indicated she was offended by his reaction.

"I'm sorry. I may not know a lot but there's certainly one thing I do know… Clay Jenson would, nay could, never hate you. You're Hannah!"

Her expression changed from annoyed to disgust in a matter of milliseconds, wrinkling her nose she continued, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"You are Hannah Baker and he is Clay Jenson."

 _Great, I was totally right. Clay is just like every other guy._

 _He's been bragging too._

Tony noticed the silence, "oh wow. Maybe you don't know… it doesn't matter. I know he likes you. In fact, I would put a bet on it. Me and Clay, we've been friends for a while. We talk."

She rolled her eyes, "you heard about the party then?" A wave of sickness hit the pit of her stomach.

His brows furrowed, "the party?"

Her stomach somersaulted, "J-Jessica's?"

"Nope. if you hadn't noticed, I am not always welcome at those kind of… soirees. What about it?"

"It- don't worry, I just know Clay doesn't like me."

"If you say so… forget school, what about you parents? Can you imagine what this would do to them? You are their only child, Hannah. It would kill them."

To be honest, she had tried not to think about that. A few times she had worried about their reaction and how they would move on. That's why she struggled to make them a tape or leave them a note. It made it somewhat easier knowing she had convinced herself they were better off. _Everyone was._

 _But were they?_ Unfortunately, she wasn't so sure anymore.

"I'm going to have to tell them," came Tony's voice from the silence.

"Who?"

"Your parents."

Hannah's head fell into her hands, "no, please, no."

"I'm worried about you Hannah, I can't not tell them now I know what I know."

She looked at him, the outline of her eyes red from tears. "You said you would help," was all she could muster.

"I want to but I'm scared. I can't be with you all the time-"

"Tony, if I promise not to do it will you not tell my parents?" The words were out of her mouth before she could register what she said.

 _Do I mean that?_ Echoed throughout her mind. The tears were falling faster and her breathing sounded shallower than before.

Tony let out a long, low whistle then sat up straight. "Okay. Here is what we are going to do. You're going to go home to bed and I am going to stay on the phone with you all night-"

"That's ridiculous," she interrupted, wiping her running nose with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Okay, whatever, until you fall asleep… You posted the tapes to Justin today?"

She nodded, "for delivery tomorrow or the next."

"Okay, they won't pick up the package until the morning. I'll pick you up around 7 and we'll wait outside the post office until it opens. If we can't stop the package there, we'll follow the post van around until we've got it."

Hannah was staring intently at Tony, listening to his plan. A little hope sparking behind her eyes.

"Then, we'll face school. Together. I'll wait outside every one of your classes and walk you to your next. We'll sit together at lunch and when the day is over, we'll take a detour home and listen to the next tape." Tony reached for Hannah's hand again and this time she did not pull away. "I'll be your friend Hannah, no more doing this alone. What do you say?"

He gave her hand a squeeze and she squeezed back, "do I have much of a say?" The corner of her mouth was curving into a smile.

Still holding her hand, he continued, "not really but I do want to hear you promise." He looked at her hopefully.

"I promise, Tony… I promise I won't do anything stupid." She gave him a reassuring smile and he smiled back.

"Thank you Hannah." They let go of each other's hands and Tony ran his around the steering wheel. "Now come along Miss Baker, I must get you home. The night is not over for us just yet. How's the charge looking on your phone?" He winked at her and she giggled.

 _Did you just giggle? Who even thought you could anymore?_

* * *

Liberty High's entrance doors swung open and once again Clay watched as Hannah Baker strolled through them.

This had become a habit of Clay's. He would watch from his locker as the girl, who obscured his thoughts so often, walked past him day after day. Week after week. Kind of cliché, some might say.

However today was different, she was not on her own. There was someone following close behind her. His signature tan, leather jacket caught Clay's attention first. Then his slick, jet black hair.

 _Tony? But why are Hannah and Tony arriving at school together?_ He'd noticed them hold a conversation before but he hadn't realised they were close.

 _They most likely bumped into each other outside,_ he told himself.

The spicy fragrance of her perfume filled Clay's nostrils. His stomach flipped at the familiar scent until his brain reminded him why he knew that smell so well. Abruptly his stomach settled, just like their encounter all those weeks ago.

Knowing Hannah was getting close, Clay threw his head into his locker.

Unexpectedly, he felt a hand slap him on the shoulder. "Clay… my man, what's up?" He turned to see that Tony had stopped to talk, whilst Hannah stood awkwardly behind him.

"Um… hey Tony… Nothing much," he held up the textbook in his hand, "peer communications first period, everyone's favorite re-"

"Required class" Hannah breathed, finishing Clay's sentence. Tony briefly glanced at Hannah, whilst Clay's eyes lingered on her for longer.

"Yeah," he said simply, still watching Hannah.

Quickly, her eyes darted from the floor to Clay. Seconds turned into what felt like years as Clay watched her eyes frantically tear apart every inch of his face. But before he could make eye contact with her, she was staring at the floor again.

Luckily, Tony had not noticed this exchange and was chuckling to himself, "so glad I'm a senior now and I don't have to deal with that crap anymore! Actually I was just about to walk Hannah to that class but as you're going, why don't you walk together?"

Suddenly, Clay felt as though all eyes were on him. In reality, it was just Tony's.

"But you said you would walk me," Hannah murmured.

Pulling her into a one armed hug, Tony gave Hannah a playful smile. "I'll be waiting outside as soon as it's over… and anyway, I know you're in safe hands with Clay." Tony nodded at Hannah who seemed hesitant.

Clay couldn't believe how close the two suddenly were. He saw that Tony's arm was still around Hannah and she was not moving.

 _Why weren't they moving?_

"Okay…" she agreed. "I'll see you after first-"

"Oi oi! Baker's at it again," Justin's overbearing voice echoed through the halls as he and his team mates grew closer. Tony felt Hannah stiffen against him. "I suppose it's the ultimate challenge for you, isn't it Baker? Fucking not only our token Latino, but a gay one at that!" He doubled over with laughter, his friends cackling along with him.

"Fuck off Justin," Tony's arm dropped from around Hannah and he began moving towards him. "You know what? I think you get off on making people feel like shit."

"Ohhhhhhhh," the surrounding teenagers crooned.

Tony came face to face with Justin who sneered back, "someone's getting a little too big for their boots, aren't they Tony-boy?" As he finished the sentence, Justin tried to lunge for him.

However, Tony didn't flinch. "Nope, just sick and tired of you. Doesn't it get boring, y'know, being a dick?"

Justin scoffed, "not really." He barged into Tony's shoulder, purposely shoving him out the way as he and his friends carried on down the hall.

As they passed Hannah and Clay, Justin chortled in their direction "the question is Han, do you have the best ass in the junior class?"

All she could do was shudder and look away as they disappeared out of view, the laughter fading with them.

"What was that all about?" Clay's voice snapped her back into reality, Tony had joined them again.

"Nothing, he's a jerk. We all know that." Tony shrugged and the bell began to ring. "Saved by the bell… Hannah," she looked at him. "After first, yeah?"

She nodded and Tony grinned. Nodding in Clay's direction as well, he yelled a quick goodbye and disappeared into the growing crowd of students.

 _What now?_ Clay fumbled around in his locker nervously.

"I'm all for skipping but you don't strike me as the type?"

Clay glanced at his watch, "shit…" He slammed his locker door closed. "Let's go."

They walked side by side to their peer communications class. They hadn't really spoken since school started again, the odd 'hi' and 'how are you?' when they passed in the hall.

He mustered all the guts he had, drawing a sharp intake of breath, "so… how are you enjoying junior year so far?" _Good one, Clay!_

Of all the responses, Clay did not expect a small laugh to escape Hannah's lips. It seemed she didn't either, as she cleared her throat quickly afterwards. "It's pretty much the same as last year, so far anyway."

"Yeah."

"You?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

"Good."

An awkward silence lulled over them.

Hannah bit down on the inside of her cheek, "I wanted to say that I am sorry we haven't spoken much. I've had a lot going on."

Clay wasn't prepared for this, "that's okay. I- I should say sorry too."

"What for?"

"Snapping at you when you tried to talk to me about Jeff… I didn't mean to, I was upset." Clay said quite quickly but Hannah heard it all. She was pleasantly surprised. "Don't worry," she smiled.

As they walked into the classroom, the second bell was yet to ring so Hannah grabbed Clay's arm before he headed for his desk. "And... I'm sorry about the party, everything that happened. It… it wasn't your-" And just like that the second bell rang.

"Can everyone take their seats please?" Mrs Bradley's cheery tone rang around the classroom. Students began sitting in their chairs, a couple of stragglers ran into the classroom before she closed the door.

Clay froze for a second, unsure how to react. _What were you going to say?_ He tried to speak but his mouth was dry.

 _Damn bell._

Hannah gave him a tiny smile and headed towards her desk, Clay did the same.

During class, Clay could have sworn he caught Hannah watching him a few times. Little did he know she had watched him throughout the whole class, her finished sentence ringing through her mind.

 _It wasn't your fault._

* * *

 **There we have it, chapter 2. I hope you like it.**

 **A part of me doesn't want to make this an easy story, so I hope no one hates me for that. I have read a few fanfictions now where Clay/Hannah suddenly fit together so perfectly. I don't think that'll happen right away in mine.**

 **Not sure about the side a chapter thing, proved harder than I expected. I am just going to go with the flow.**

 **Thanks for all the favs, follows and reviews!**

 **Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!**


	3. Chapter 3

***Reposting this now the alerts are working again! New chapter will be up by Sunday***

 **I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why.**

 **Thoughts are in italics. Text messages are in bold.**

* * *

Hannah fell backwards onto her bed, as if the weight of her thoughts had caused her to lose balance.

She had been dropped off moments before by Tony, after they'd finished listening to some more of her tapes. Her parents were working late again so she was thankful not to be greeted by questions about her whereabouts.

After they had listened to Jessica's tape, she had managed to convince Tony that these weren't the kind of problems he could fix one by one. For Hannah, this had been a downward spiral for months.

He had promised to listen to all of the tapes before they made a decision on what they were going to do about them and of course, Hannah had agreed with him. But negativity plagued her thoughts, w _as there anything anyone could do at this point?_

They had finished Courtney's side of tape 3 before Hannah asked if they could stop for the night, she couldn't stomach listening to herself talk in the past tense anymore. Tomorrow was Friday and they could finish where they left off on the weekend.

Tony was not so easily convinced and Hannah knew he was anxious about what she would do when she was alone. Honestly, Hannah was kind of nervous about that too. Her mind had been an abundance of darkness and isolation for months now. She wasn't too sure if she trusted herself alone with her thoughts.

However, she pasted on a smile and reminded Tony of the promise she made him a couple of days before. He seemed to relax at this and Hannah went on to mention the time and that they both had school in the morning.

Tony agreed but before they left for her house, he gave one of his best jokes to date, "anyway don't beat yourself up too much over Courtney. My gaydar always went off around that chick."

When Hannah questioned what a gaydar was, Tony answered her question with his own, "a radar for gays?" She shook her head and Tony sighed.

"You staights are so clueless. I am almost, always right when it comes to others... preferences," he was talking about Courtney and her closeted sexuality, "one of the perks of batting for the other team, I guess."

Whilst thinking of the comment, Hannah smiled to herself. Tony always had a way with words that amazed her. He was never afraid to say what he thought and it seemed like he never cared about others opinions.

 _What is going to happen when he gets to the fifth tape?_

The thought hit her like a tonne of bricks and any traces of that smile disappeared from Hannah's lips. She raised her hands to her face as if to shield herself from any more bad thoughts.

 _When he finds out what happened to Jessica, he is going to want to do something. Am I going to be able to stop him?_

Suddenly, a shiver crept up her spine and she felt the familiar sensation of loneliness engulf her once more.

 _I am not alone. I have Tony. I am not alone. I have Tony. I am not alone._ Her mind chanted in an attempt to subside the feeling.

But would she still have Tony when he finds out what she did, or more importantly, what she didn't do?

Her text tone distracted her from the internal battle she was having and she reached for her phone on the nightstand. On the screen was a text... from Jessica herself.

 **U awake?**

She glanced at her alarm clock, it was 9pm. She couldn't help but laugh, **nope it's past my bedtime**.

 **Haha very funny, u no wat my dads like! If he caught me on my phone I would b screwed! Wat u doin after school 2moro?**

 **Lol :) no plans, u?**

Jessica's response wasn't as instant as before however Hannah didn't dare to put down her phone until it came.

 **Ditto, wanna hang at Monet's?**

 **Sure! Is everything ok?**

 **All good :) we'll catch up 2moro. C u in the courtyard after last bell x**

 **See u then x**

She locked her phone and placed it back on the nightstand. There was no way she could deny it, although the invite was unexpected, it had definitely caused the loneliness to disappear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her parents arriving home from the store, "Hannah, honey, we're home! Can you help us with the groceries?" Mrs. Bakers voice rang through the house.

* * *

On their journey to school the next day, Hannah began telling Tony about the text message she had received the night before. Though Hannah felt positive about the impending plans, Tony didn't seem to be. "Are you sure?" was the first thing he said.

Hannah was a little taken back by his response, she had thought this was progress. When she hesitated, Tony spoke again, "it's not that I don't think you should... but is now the best time?"

The tone of his voice was calm and gentle and Hannah could tell that he was only looking out for her. "I think it is... we were close once and I do still care about her," she answered.

Tony nodded, "okay, as long as you're happy then so am I!"

He pulled into the school grounds and parked his car in its usual spot. Once he had shut off the engine, he turned in his seat to face Hannah. "Make sure you call me if you don't like how things are going though, alright?" His voice was suddenly very stern which reminded Hannah of her father.

She couldn't help but giggle, "don't worry, you'll be the first to know."

They both exited the mustang and began walking towards the school entrance. "Are you doing anything tonight?" Hannah asked, she felt a little bad for leaving Tony with no plans.

"I should probably go see Brad, he's been asking where I've been but well... y'know."

"Brad?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend. I don't think you've met him. You should, he'll like you." Tony smiled at her.

She wasn't sure why but his comment made her blush, "I would love to."

"Cool! I'll talk to him about it tonight," he pushed open the entrance door and held it open for Hannah. "After you ma'am," Tony spoke in an over the top British accent.

Hannah stifled a laugh and replied in an equally embarrassing accent, "why thank you kind sir."

She walked into school and her eyes automatically found Clay's locker. She caught his eye for a second and then watched as his head buried itself in his locker. _Can he really not look at me?_

It seemed Tony did not notice as he held out his arm in Hannah's direction. "I believe Mr. Kowalski's class awaits, ma'am," he continued in his fake British accent. She linked her arm with his as they walked together down the corridor.

* * *

The rest of the school day flew by rather quickly for Hannah. Before she knew it, she had met up with Jessica and they had arrived at Monet's.

Entering the coffee shop, they both headed for their usual table without thinking about it. They sat down together and Jessica was the first to speak, "old habits die hard, I guess."

Hannah forced a small smile. Looking around the familiar venue, all she could remember was the last time she was here.

"I haven't been here in so long..." Jessica continued, her voice becoming smaller.

Hannah was struggling to concentrate on the conversation. Her chest grew tighter as she remembered the last time they were here together.

"...I wonder if their hot chocolates are as good as they used to be..."

It was like Hannah was reliving the scene all over again.

Jessica's voice was much more distant now, "Han... Hannah..."

It was like she was feeling it for the first time again. The viciousness behind Jessica's words. The disgusted look on her face. The sting of the slap.

"HANNAH?!" Came Jessica's horrified scream. Hannah had lost consciousness and fallen off her chair.

Jessica was next to her in a flash, cradling her head in her lap, "Hannah? Wake up! Hannah? SOMEONE CALL 911!"

* * *

 **Sorry it is a little shorter than the other chapters! I really struggled writing this! I found it so tempting to give Hannah her happy ending straight away but what kind of story would that be?**

 **Anyway, I hope you all liked it. Thanks again for the reviews, favorites and follows! I had no idea this many people would read my story.**

 **Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!**


	4. Chapter 4

**What is going on with the alert system? I hope all my followers have been able to see my last chapter post.**

 **Anyway... on with the show :)**

 **I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why. Thoughts are in italics.**

* * *

Hannah did not regain consciousness until she was in the hospital. Opening her eyes, a groggy feeling overwhelmed her which caused her vision to blur. As her senses adjusted, she thought she could hear her parents discussing something nearby.

"Mom… Dad?" Hannah croaked.

"Oh, darling!" Mrs. Baker was next to Hannah in a flash, clasping her hand tightly. "How are you feeling?"

"Er… foggy…" Her sight no longer blurry, she looked around the room. Hannah attempted to sit up, "what's happened? Where am I?" The panic rose in her voice which her mother noticed straightaway.

Mrs. Baker began stroking the wavy hair that framed her daughter's face to calm her and Hannah relaxed in the bed.

"Shhh… it's okay. You fainted in Monet's and your friend Jessica came with you in the ambulance, she's waiting in the hall. You don't remember anything?" Mrs. Baker asked.

All Hannah could do was shake her head, _I fainted?_ She couldn't believe it, she had never fainted before.

"Do you need anything?" Mr. Baker was at Hannah's free side now. She had never seen her dad look so disheveled.

"Water, please," she rasped and gave him a tight smile.

Her dad excused himself and returned seconds later with a cup of water. He handed it to Hannah carefully and she took a sip.

After she had finished, Hannah spoke again, "why did I faint?"

Her eyes met her mother's, "they're not sure honey, but they're running some tests so I'm sure we'll know soon." Mrs. Baker smiled at her daughter, however, Hannah noticed something different behind her eyes.

Worry? Anxiousness? Whatever it was, Hannah could definitely tell her mom wasn't feeling as positive as she was pretending to be.

"Did you tell Jessica that Hannah is awake, Andy?" Mrs. Baker asked her husband.

"Yes, she insisted on staying though. You've got a good friend there, Han," Andy smiled in his daughter's direction.

 _Did she?_ Hannah was unsure how to respond.

"Would you like me to go get her?"Again, Hannah wasn't sure what to say so she nodded instead.

Andy left the room and returned with Jessica by his side. Her face lit up when she saw that Hannah was conscious.

Bounding over to her bedside, Jessica engulfed Hannah in a bone crushing hug. Her muscles ached at the sudden contact, _how_ _long was I out for?_ She let out an uncomfortable noise from inside Jessica's embrace.

"Sorry!" Jessica let go of Hannah and jumped backwards. Hannah responded with a small smile.

"We'll leave you girls to it," Andy announced. "Olivia, we should go find the doctor?"

Olivia didn't react at first, she was still watching Hannah. Her hand, that had been stroking her daughter's hair before, was now resting on the pillow next to her head. She remained in that position, her gaze lingering on Hannah for a few seconds longer. Then she rose from her chair and moved towards the door.

Looking towards Hannah, she spoke, "we'll be back soon." Then the couple exited the room and Olivia closed the door behind them.

As soon as she was sure the door was closed, Jessica asked, "are you okay?"

Hannah gave a half-heartened shrug, "I guess… I'm not really sure what happened."

"It's weird… I was trying to talk to you but you weren't reacting. Then you became limp and fell to the floor," Jessica recalled as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sorry if I scared you or anything," Hannah added quickly.

"Don't be silly," Jessica laughed. "I'm just glad you're okay," the smile remained on her face and she placed her hand on top of Hannah's. "We'll have to reschedule when you're feeling better."

"Yeah…" Hannah's thoughts trailed off. She was confused, why had Jessica had a sudden change of heart? Why did she want to hang out with her now, after all this time?

Hannah bit down on the inside of her cheek, spurring herself to go on, "Jess, is there something you want to talk about? I was surprised when you text me. You've got to admit, it was a rather impromptu invitation."

Jessica let out an exasperated sigh, "I know… to be honest, I was surprised when you replied. It's been a while since we've really spoken, I expected you to not have my number anymore!" She began laughing.

Fake laughing, Hannah could tell.

 _Don't be so stupid Jess,_ of course she still had her number.

Jessica must have noticed Hannah's lack of reaction because she hesitated before she spoke again, "look, I wanted to say that I don't think I've ever apologised for what I did. I should never have called you a slut… and I should never have hit you. I'm sorry."

They sat in silence for a few seconds until Hannah spoke, "thank you… for apologising. You were upset, I get why-"

Jessica scoffed which interupted Hannah, "no, it was stupid. All of it. I don't know why I didn't believe you, we were supposed to be friends."

"Honestly, Jess, I understand. People drift, it happens." Hannah mustered all the energy she had and positioned herself so she was sitting upright looking directly at Jessica. "Thank you though, really, I appreciate the apology."

They smiled at each other. "We should hang out more, I never really understood why we stopped. I mean, before all that shit happened."

Hannah shrugged at Jessica's comment, "we just, started doing different things." _Like becoming a cheerleader._

"Hmm… I sometimes think about back then, when everything was simpler. Back when I first started at Liberty and knew no one."

"I can't be that bad knowing people. What about Justin?"

Hannah watched Jessica roll her eyes.

"Justin… well, Justin is Justin. I don't think he'll ever get out of that jock mentality."

"What do you mean? Is everything okay between you two?"

Maybe Hannah had sounded too keen, or maybe Jessica found her comment intrusive because she raised her eyebrows at the question.

"Why so interested? Not jealous are we?" She giggled. Hannah's face remained blank and Jessica realised that it wasn't funny. "Sorry, it was just a joke… we're fine. He's just- all he cares about is getting drunk or high. We hardly see each other unless there's a group of us, I feel like he's avoiding me for some reason."

Hannah could tell this had been weighing on Jessica's mind for quite a while. Even when they were close, she'd never been one to open up about her personal life. Before Hannah had the chance to say anything, Jessica was speaking again, "we had a great summer together, it's just since we've been back at school. I dunno, things have changed."

Automatically, Hannah bit the inside of her cheek again. _Of course things have changed, he let someone rape you!_

"Hannah, are you alright? You look upset?" Jessica asked, concern lacing her voice.

Snapping back into reality, Hannah uncurled her hands that had subconsciously balled into fists. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry... sometimes people just change. Maybe he's just not the person you thought he was."

Jessica, for once, was lost for words so she responded by shrugging her shoulders.

Before either of them could speak again, the door opened and the Bakers walked in with a doctor accompanying them.

"Ah, Hannah! How lovely to see you awake!" The doctor beamed.

Sensing it was her cue to leave, Jessica stood from her place on the bed. "I best head off, it's late and I've still got to pick my car up from Monet's."

"I'll drive you!" Came Andy's voice quickly, "as a thank you for looking after our little girl."

Hannah felt the heat rise to her cheeks, "dad…" she groaned.

"Shh Hannah," Olivia hushed, "your father is right. We're so thankful you were there Jessica, please let Andy take you?"

Jessica gave them that award winning grin Hannah was so envious of. "Don't worry about it, honestly I'm just glad you're okay," she was now giving Hannah that smile. "Thank you for the offer but my parents know I'm here and have been on standby waiting to come get me. My dad's an army man, he'll be here before I make it outside!"

Everyone laughed at this; Jessica, Hannah's parents, even the doctor. Hannah, however, was watching Jessica.

 _How do you do it? Does she really have no idea what happened to her?_

"Really, I'm fine. I'll call my parents now." Before she left Hannah's bedside, she placed her hand on hers one more time. "I hope everything is okay. Text me when you're feeling better and we'll rearrange Monet's, okay?"

Hannah nodded, "sure, see ya later."

"Get home safe," Olivia added.

"I will. I'll see you all soon," and with that Jessica left the room.

* * *

After hanging up the phone to her dad, Jessica left the hospital to wait for him outside. Seeing a bench, she walked towards it.

As she did, she scrolled through Instagram. Scantily dressed girls and clearly intoxicated teenagers filled her feed. She checked the time, it had just gone 11pm. Bryce's second party of the year was most likely in full swing by now.

She looked through some of her cheerleading friends accounts. Their most recent uploads were from a couple of hours ago, posing in their party outfits.

 _Same shit, different weekend._

"Hey! Jessica!" She heard a male voice shout from behind her.

She spun on her heel to see Tony running towards her and he looked frantic. He was followed by a dark headed, tall boy that she had never seen before, "uh hi To-"

He was in front of her now, speaking very fast, "what happened? Where's Hannah?!"

"Wha-" Jessica began but Tony interrupted her, "what did you do?!" He spat.

The boy Jessica didn't know had caught up with them now. He placed his hand on Tony's shoulder and spoke softly, "Tony, calm down."

Tony shrugged the hand off his shoulder. "Well?!" He asked Jessica, clearly fed up with her silence.

Jessica shook her head in disbelief, "what are you talking about? How did you know we were here?"

"Why does that matter?! Just answer the question, where is Hannah?!" Tony voice was rising, he was really angry now.

"She's in the hospital but she's fine. She fainted so I brought her here. Her parents are upstairs with her."

Tony blew out the breath he hadn't realised he was holding, "good."

Though Tony seemed to calm at the answer, Jessica had began heating up, "who are you anyway, Hannah's stalker?! What gives you the right to talk to me like that?!"

Tony laughed, "I'm Hannah's friend, a better one than you ever were."

Jessica's mouth hung open for a couple of seconds, "really and what the fuck would you know about that?!"

"More than you think," Tony snarled back and the two began glaring at each other.

They stood like that for a few moments before Tony's companion stood in between them, "okay okay. This is truly fascinating to watch but you've got your answer so it's time for us to go." He grabbed Tony's arm and yanked him in the other direction.

Jessica watched them leave. As he was pulled away, Tony looked over his shoulder once to send a daggering stare in Jessica's direction.

 _What the fuck was that about?!_

* * *

 **I hope you all liked it, let me know what you think!**

 **Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I am so sorry for the lack of updates. Life has been hectic and I had an eye op a few weeks ago so I have been recovering. I will admit that it took me a while to write this chapter, I wasn't sure if I should move things along as quickly as I have done. Hopefully, I have made the right decision.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling, read on for the next instalment…**

 **I do not own Thirteen Reasons Why. Thoughts are in italics. Text messages in bold.**

* * *

Hannah was discharged from hospital the same night. Though they had run multiple tests on her, the doctors were unable to decide exactly what had caused her to faint. In the end, they concluded that it would have been related to her low blood pressure.

Her mother was definitely not pleased with the diagnosis. She'd argued that Hannah had suffered from low blood pressure since birth and nothing like this had ever happened before. Even though the doctors sympathised with Olivia's concerns, they were still happy to discharge Hannah.

On the way back to their house, Olivia passed Hannah her cell phone. To her surprise, she had a number of text messages and missed calls.

6:32pm: **How's everything going? I'm only a phone call away if you need me x  
** 7pm: **How was your rendezvous with Miss Davis? x  
** 7:34pm: missed call from Tony **  
**7:45pm: **Heeelllooooo? You at Monet's? x  
** 8:03pm: missed call from Tony  
8:05pm: **I've just called Monet's, they said you've gone to hospital? Are you ok?  
** 8:07pm: missed call from Tony  
8:15pm: missed call from Tony  
8:38pm: missed call from Tony  
9pm: missed call from Tony **  
**9:32pm: **I'm coming to the hospital  
** 9:45pm: missed call from Tony  
10:05pm: **They won't tell me where you are but I'm staying outside until I know you're ok x**  
11:49pm: **u will never guess wat happened when I left u! Tony from school was waiting outside w some guy. He screamed at me & wanted 2 no wat I had done to you lol! Said he was a better friend 2 u than I was or something. R u 2 friends? Hope ur ok, txt me when u can xx  
**  
As she finished scrolling through the messages, she let her phone fall into her lap. She squeezed her eyes closed and pinched the bridge of her nose with one of her free hands. _Why on earth did Tony confront Jessica… this is only going to get worse when he listens to more of the tapes._

She racked her brain for a solution; _maybe I could burn them and forget that I ever made them?_

 _Like fuck would I be able to forget any of this… Tony wouldn't let me even if I tried._

Andy watched his daughter in the rearview mirror, "everything alright Han?"

"Oh," he'd startled her. She opened her eyes and met her father's in the mirror, "I'm fine. Just tired. It's been a long night."

"You're telling me," he agreed, his eyes moving back onto the road ahead. "At least tomorrow is Saturday. You'll be in bed soon enough, here we are." Their car turned off the street and found their driveway.

"Yeah…" was all she said, her mind elsewhere.

 _What have I done?_

* * *

Tony was wide awake. He lay on top of his bed with Hannah's box of tapes resting on his stomach. Squinting, he glanced over at the only light source in the room. His digital clock displayed the time – 02:03.

 _Another sleepless night._

They had not listened to any of the tapes since Thursday. After Hannah's hospital trip, her parents had kept her on house arrest all weekend.

She called him on Saturday morning to explain what had happened to her the day before… and to tell him off for verbally attacking Jessica. She said that even though he cared about her, it didn't give him the right to be mean. Wasn't that what had gotten her into this mess in the first place, because people had been mean to her?

He'd apologised profusely and explained that he was just very worried about her. She accepted his apology but asked him not do something like that again. Tony promised that he wouldn't.

They weren't able to see each other that weekend but Hannah had asked him to pick her up for school on Monday so all seemed to be forgiven.

Now here he was, wide awake at 2am on Monday morning holding the tapes. _These fucking tapes._

The questions were eating him up inside. Why would a beautiful and confident girl like Hannah want to take her own life? Why couldn't she talk to anyone about what was going on, not even him? What was on the next shitty tape?

Sitting up abruptly, he became light headed for a second. Once his head stopped spinning, he regained composure and stood up. Holding the box of tapes in one hand, he paced towards his desk and grabbed his Walkman.

Tony threw the lid of the box to the floor and ran his index finger over the spines of the cassette tapes until he stopped on tape 3. His finger hovered there for a couple of seconds before he took it out and placed the shoebox on his desk. He removed the case and flipped the cassette over to side B before sliding it into his Walkman and hitting play.

 _Marcus Cole… just as much of a follower as the rest of them…_

 _Zack Dempsey… even I thought he was nice, for a jock…_

 _Ryan Shaver… of course, Ryan had something to do with this. Selfish bastard._

He had finished his ex-boyfriend's side of tape 4 before he removed it from his Walkman and began twirling it between his fingers. He was still no closer to understanding why Hannah wanted to end her life. He understood that their classmates had been horrible to her but why couldn't she have spoken to someone? Why couldn't she have spoken to him?

The feeling of guilt overtook his confusion, he had promised to only listen to these tapes with Hannah but they were too addictive. Like a drug addict who needed their fix, Tony needed to know what had happened to his friend.

Subconsciously, he reached into the box for tape 5. As his guilt caught up with him, his hand hesitated before grabbing the cassette tape. A million questions ran through his mind but his selfishness kept him rooted to his goal. Hannah was going to be pissed that he'd listened to any of the tapes without her, what was one more?

He slid the 5th tape into the Walkman and moved towards his bed. As he hit play, he led backwards until the back of his head hit the pillow beneath him.

* * *

"It's Tony, leave a message."

As it had done all morning, the call went straight to voicemail.

It was Monday and although Tony had promised to pick her up for school that day, he was nowhere to be seen. Her parents had already gone to the store which had left Hannah to procrastinate about Tony's whereabouts. Procrastination quickly led to panic which meant she was now running late.

She glanced at the clock once more, if she left now then she would just make first period. An image of her walking alone through the school hallway taunted her mind. Shaking her head, she took her keys from the kitchen counter and made a dash for her car.

Falling into the driver's seat, Hannah blew out a deep breath. _Where is he?_ Echoed through her mind.

She hadn't realised that she was shaking until she attempted to put her key into the car's ignition. She fumbled for a few seconds before she found the hole. _Why has he left me to do this alone?_

She rested her trembling hands of the steering wheel of the car and set off for school.

Pulling into the school grounds, she noticed that Tony's Mustang was parked in his usual spot. She carried on past it and parked her car in the next available space she could find.

Whilst exiting her car, she heard a lot of racket coming from the school's entrance. Glancing over, she noticed a huge huddle of teenagers circled around what she assumed was a fight. She didn't think much of it and, deciding to avoid the crowd, Hannah set off in the direction of the cafeteria entrance instead.

That was until she heard a familiar name being chanted and stopped dead in her tracks.

"Bryce, Bryce, Bryce…"

As if on cue, her hands began to shake again and a wave of sickness hit the pit of her stomach. _Why was he fighting someone? More importantly, who?_

Keeping her eyes forward, she tried to ignore the voices coming from her peers and carried on towards the cafeteria. But it seemed that the further away she got, the louder the chanting became…

"…Bryce, Bryce, Bryce…"

Until it was too unbearable to handle.

"…Bryce, Bryce, Bryce…"

Running as fast as her feet would carry her toward the crowd of students, she pushed through until she could see the root of the commotion.

Bryce had Tony pinned to the floor.

 _Tony knows. He's listened to them all._

Hannah could feel the sickness in her stomach rising. Bubbling through her body until it felt as though her lungs were drowning.

She watched as Bryce's fist made contact with Tony's jaw over and over again. The crowd lunged forward in excitement and Hannah was shoved out of the circle. Her knees, weak from what she had witnessed, buckled beneath her. Whilst falling, her bag had opened and its contents were now surrounding her on the floor

"Hannah, are you okay?" came an anxious voice over the shouts and cheers from her classmates close by.

Clay crouched down beside her as she attempted to gather her belongings.

"Here, let me help you," he said, holding open her rucksack and placing her books inside. .

Once they'd finished, he gave back her bag and held out his other hand to help Hannah stand. She hesitated for a second before sliding her hand into his. As he guided Hannah to her feet, her anxiety began to lift.

"BREAK IT UP! MOVE IT!" Mr Porter's voice boomed over the crowd. This caused Hannah to jump unknowingly further in Clay's direction.

He squeezed her hand that he was still holding, "are you alright?" Hannah gave him a tight smile before glancing at their entwined hands.

The teenagers around them had started to scatter but Mr Porter's voice continued to shout, "GET OFF HIM NOW!" He grabbed the back of Bryce's shirt, pulling the student to his feet.

Though socially inept, Clay had begun to realise how nervous Hannah was acting.

Mr Porter's voice had quietened when he spoke, "both of you get to the principal's office." When neither of the boys moved, his voice rose again, "NOW!"

Bryce was the first to leave, followed closely by Mr Porter. As Tony reached down to grab his jacket from the ground, he winced in pain and placed a hand on the right side of his ribcage.

Clay, who was in no rush to let go of her hand, could feel Hannah's shaking from within his. He watched her stare at Tony who was struggling to put on his leather jacket. Clay couldn't help but wonder what had gotten into his friend over the past fortnight.

Tony turned in the direction of the principal's office, it was then he noticed Hannah and Clay standing in the way. Straight away, he saw they were holding hands and attempted to give them playful look. Unfortunately, moving his face this way caused an excruciating pain to throb behind his eye so he nodded towards them instead.

She rushed forward, releasing Clay's hand in the process. "What's going on Tony?" Hannah whispered.

He gave her the best smile he could muster whilst the muscles across his face twinged in pain, "nothing I can't handle."

"But hav-"

He held up his hand to interrupt her, "we'll talk about it later, I've got to get to the office." He then placed the same hand on her shoulder and spoke quietly, "try not to worry."

Hannah scoffed at his comment, "after all this, why on earth would I trust you?" Her eyes glistened as they bore into Tony's, "I'm done." She concluded and began to walk backwards, away from him.

"Hannah," Tony started before she shook her head, turned and took off in the direction of her car.

Tony stumbled forward as if to follow her but his ribcage began aching again "Hannah!" He shouted once more whilst he held his chest but she didn't turn round.

Clay was growing suspicious but before he could ask Tony anything, Mr Porter had returned to collect him.

"Mr Padilla, what's the hold up?" He asked whilst Tony watched helplessly as Hannah grew closer to her car. "And Mr Jenson, I believe the last bell has rung?"

"Sorry sir," Clay hastily replied.

"It's not Clay's fault, sir, I'm just really struggling to walk. Clay was helping me get my stuff, my bag is over there." Tony pointed in the opposite direction.

Mr Porter's features softened, "I see, well let's get you inside so the nurse can take a look at you."

Whilst the teacher had turned to retrieve his bag, Tony grabbed Clay's jacket and abruptly pulled him closer, "follow her."

"What-"

"Hannah, follow her, please. I can't explain right now but just do it for me, please Clay. She needs us." Clay looked into Tony's frantic eyes. He couldn't deny that something was definitely different about Hannah since they had returned to school after summer. He'd somewhat accepted that drama was just drawn to Hannah, like a moth to a flame. But it most certainly was not drawn to Tony and that's what Clay had found so peculiar about the past couple of weeks.

He glanced over his shoulder towards Hannah's car, she was unlocking it now. _As soon as she turns the engine on, I'll have lost her_. There is no way his push bike would catch a car.

Mr Porter had returned to Tony's side now. It must have looked as though Clay was supporting him because Mr Porter took Tony's weight from Clay, "thank you for your help Mr Jenson but you should get to class."

Clay nodded, "I've got gym, best not miss that!" He announced loudly in a very unlike Clay way. A tiny smile plastered itself on Tony's lips, he knew Clay had calculus with Hannah first period. "I better go this way then," Clay babbled whilst signalling towards the gym on the other side of the parking lot.

Mr Porter gave him a bemused look but agreed with him nonetheless, "yes you should." Whilst managing the young man's weight, Mr Porter turned with Tony and led him through the front doors of the school.

Clay had never skipped class before but it sounded like Hannah somehow needed his help. Hearing the front doors close behind him, his adrenaline skyrocketed and he sprinted towards her car.

She was already sat in the driver's seat when Clay reached her. He knocked on the passenger side window which caused her to jump. After realising who he was, she rolled down the window.

"Helmet, don't you know that class has already started?"

"Ah yes, the intriguing world of calculus is calling… but I thought you might fancy some company?"

He gave her a hopeful look which she returned with a roll of her eyes, "what about your squeaky clean attendance record?"

"Well, we could say you're taking me on a field trip? I've never skipped before so you'd be doing me a favour and teaching me something new."

Hannah couldn't help but smile. Clay hadn't taken his eyes off her so when she looked up, their eyes met. After a couple of moments, she let out a sigh and unlocked the door, "who would I be to turn down an educational plea for help? Student! Your class awaits!"

* * *

 **I hope I portrayed how scared Tony was in that last part. To be honest, I am not sure what Hannah would have done if they let her leave school on her own so I am glad that Clay stepped up.**

 **Please let me know what you all think! If you have any ideas for me, please leave them in a review or PM me!**

 **Good morning, day or night, wherever you are!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I felt you guys deserved a little more from me this weekend due to my lack of uploads! This is a bit of a fluffy chapter but needed nonetheless.**

 **I do not own 13 Reasons Why. Thoughts are in italics.**

* * *

They had been driving for a while now; Hannah had decided to take Clay to the next town over.

"Lesson number 1 in skipping," she'd begun a few minutes in, "put at least 20 miles between you and the school!"

It had been a pleasant journey so far, Clay was yet to say anything too embarrassing at least.

"My music taste is totally boring; I'll hold my hands up and say it!" Hannah exclaimed as she lifted one hand from the steering wheel and held it up momentarily in mock surrender. "I'm just into mainstream stuff."

Clay smiled, "mainstream stuff isn't too bad, there's a few songs I like at the moment. What's his name… Kygo?"

"Kygo, really? You don't strike me as the dance type?"

He laughed at this, "no not really, but even I can admit that guy is talented! If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll tell you a secret."

Hannah puffed out her chest and held up 3 fingers, "scouts honour!"

"I quite like the song he's done with… Selena Gomez? The one who was in that Disney show?"

"Well Clay… you are just full of surprises," Hannah replied with her jaw hung open slightly.

Clay shrugged, "but I mostly listen to indie and rock bands. Like The Black Keys, Modest Mouse, Future Islands, Joy Division, stuff like that. At the moment I am really into this new band called Bully, have you heard of them?"

"Nope," she said as she shook her head. "Feel free to show me though, you can connect to the stereo if you want." Hannah pressed a button on the dashboard that switched the stereo from radio to CD. Before she could press it again to switch it to AUX, a familiar song began playing.

As soon as he recognised the haunting melody, he glanced over at Hannah. He watched the blush creep over her cheeks as she fumbled to try and turn off the song.

To him it felt like the temperature was rising a degree a second but he couldn't pull his eyes from her. He mustered all the courage he had and spoke quietly, "don't turn it off." Hannah seemed to calm at the sound of his voice and accepted his request.

He hadn't heard this song since the Winter Formal, the first time he had ever heard it. But it was a song he knew he would never forget.

They listened the whole way through and when it ended, they sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

As Hannah pulled off the freeway, she was the first to speak, "well that killed the mood."

Clay let out a nervous chuckle, "I haven't heard it since the dance."

"Yeah, I asked Tony for a copy."

A silence fell over them once more, until Hannah spoke up again, "it makes me think… well it brings back good memories for me." She smiled, however she kept her eyes firmly on the road in front of her.

"Me too," Clay added softly.

They sat silently for a couple of minutes more before Clay leant forward for his rucksack. Unzipping it, he pulled out his iPod. After successfully connecting it to the car speakers, he hit play.

"This one is called Trying," Clay said, attempting to change the subject. His foot began tapping in time with the beat.

When the lead singer started, Hannah's face broke into a grin, "the singer's a girl?"

"Yeah," Clay said in surprise, "do I really come across that chauvinistic that I can't listen to bands fronted by a girl?"

"No, no, of course not-"

"I'm only joking Hannah," Clay laughed, clearly amused by Hannah's panic. She'd noticed this and gave his arm a playful punch.

* * *

They'd listened to the remainder of the band's album before they arrived in the neighbouring town's lookout point. They were now sat on an old picnic blanket, which Hannah found in the trunk of her car, taking in the views in front of them.

Clay's mind cast back to the last time he was in such close proximity to Hannah. He watched as the sunlight hit her hair causing an auburn tinge to appear throughout her deep shade of brown. Her hair had grown a few inches since the party and now fell just past her shoulders. He had to admit, he definitely preferred her hair longer.

Hannah felt him watching her and turned to catch his eye before he had time to look away. "So Mr Gawks-a-lot, is there something on my face?" She asked sarcastically.

Clay felt the heat rise to his own, "no." He answered quickly which made Hannah laugh out loud.

They spent the next hour talking about generic topics and picking at Clay's sack lunch. They laughed and joked and Hannah found it easy to forget about the past few weeks. It felt like she had been transported back to that night, their night, before everything went so severely wrong. Only this time, they weren't drunk and he was still connecting with her like they had done before.

"I can't say I am that excited for another year of peer communications!" Hannah laughed as they shared jokes about their teacher Mrs Bradley.

"It won't be that bad, I'm just hoping I get at least one note this year."

Hannah was a little shocked by this. Clay was so nice to everyone and she'd assumed that their classmates felt the same way, "you didn't get any last year?"

"Nope, but don't worry," he said when he noticed the concerned look she was giving him. "My mom's got enough encouraging lectures to last a lifetime." They both began laughing at this.

"Did you get any?" Clay asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"I got a couple at the beginning of the year but they stopped after a while," Hannah said whilst nibbling on a carrot stick from Clay's lunch. He gave her a confused look.

"I am pretty sure someone was getting rid of my notes. Every time I would go to check, nothing would be in there." She wasn't sure if she should go on. She knew it was Zach who took the notes from her bag but did Clay need to know that?

"That's horrible; do you know who was doing it?"

He'd been so nice to her already so Hannah decided to tell him the truth, "I found out it was Zach."

"Dempsey?" Clay asked quickly and Hannah nodded. "What a jerk!"

Hannah responded by shrugging her shoulders, "boys will be boys."

"That doesn't give him the right to be mean to you," Clay was shaking his head and Hannah could see he was visibly upset by what she'd told him.

"Don't worry about it, they're just notes."

"Yeah but they were notes of encouragement, a morale boost! He shouldn't have taken them." Clay brushed the crumbs off his trousers and stood up, "one sec."

He jogged over to Hannah's car and took out his notepad from his bag. As he paced back, he flicked through the pages of it and began talking, "this will sound lame but I left a few notes in your bag."

Hannah was stunned into silence so Clay continued, "call me big headed but I did always wonder why you never returned the favour." He ripped a page from his notepad and handed it to her.

She took it from him and found that the page was covered in cartoon drawings of a rabbit. A rabbit she had definitely seen before, "I've seen this guy before! He was one of the first notes I got. It was you?"

Clay smiled and threw his hands in the air, "the one and only."

She jumped to her feet and hung her arms around Clay's neck. He was taken back by the sudden contact but hesitantly returned the hug. Wanting to avoid any chances of making Hannah feel uncomfortable, he slowly placed his hands in the small of her back whilst she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks Clay," she mumbled.

He had no idea why she was so touched by the drawings but he was in no way complaining. He'd happily draw her hundreds of cartoon rabbits if it meant she'd carry on hugging him this way.

Hannah pulled away first whilst tucking some stray hair behind her ear. She was purposely avoiding making eye contact with Clay, feeling slightly embarrassed for acting so spontaneously.

What Clay didn't know was how important those drawings had been to her. Before Zach had started stealing them, Clay's rabbits had been a lifeline to Hannah. They gave her a sense of hope knowing that someone had cared enough to draw them for her. When the notes stopped, that flicker of hope stopped with them.

She crouched down to retrieve her cell phone from the floor. Checking the time, her hand flew to cover her mouth. "It's nearly 3! We've been here all day."

"Shit… Mr Porter will have definitely called my parents by now," Clay groaned as he let his head roll backwards.

"And mine," Hannah added.

Hannah began to gather their things and Clay folded the picnic blanket when she had finished. They packed up the car and decided to head back home to face their families.

"Thanks for keeping me company today Clay."

 _It was now or never_ , "of course. After what happened with Tony and Bryce this morning, I thought you could use it," Clay watched Hannah stiffen as he finished his sentence. He waited for her to say something but when she didn't, he spoke again, "I don't know what's gotten into Tony recently."

Again, he was met with silence. "Do you have any idea what's going on with him?"

"Why would I?" Hannah answered quickly.

"Well, you've been together a lot recently. You seem to be getting quite close." He paused, hoping she'd say something. "Look, Hannah, you can tell me if you're dating him. I promise I can handle it."

Clay had expected more silence but instead, Hannah was laughing. At him? He wasn't sure.

"Dating?" She managed to say between laughs, "you think me and Tony are dating?"

Clay gave her a shrug. He knew she didn't like him like that but she didn't have to laugh about it.

"You're so clueless."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Tony's gay, Clay," Hannah said simply, her laughter had started to subside.

"Wha- I didn't know that, how was I supposed to know that?"

Hannah, who had now calmed down, said seriously, "I thought everyone knew it."

"I don't think everyone knows that," Clay answered, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I think a lot of people know it… did you seriously think we were dating?"

Hannah spent the rest of the drive explaining to Clay her friendship with Tony, excluding the part about the tapes and her harbouring suicidal thoughts. She'd said that Tony was helping her sort out some problems she was having at school.

"Well if one of those problems is Bryce, maybe you shouldn't have told Tony about it. He can be a little hot-headed, if you hadn't already realised." Clay mentioned.

He didn't pry, however, and let Hannah tell him whatever she felt comfortable sharing.

It wasn't long before they were outside the school where a few teenagers were still loitering since finishing their after school programmes. She'd parked in a spot close to the bike racks and was now leaning on her car bonnet watching Clay unlock the chain on his bike.

"I'm sure your bike would fit in the trunk if you want a ride home?" Though she would never admit it, she really didn't want to say goodbye.

"It's fine, I've got to come up with an excuse for my parents anyway. The ride will give me plenty of time to brainstorm."

"Well don't forget this…" she said, juggling his helmet between her hands before placing it on Clay's head. "It's been a pleasure," she gave his headgear a pat, "Helmet."

He sent her a lopsided smile before buckling the clasp beneath his chin.

"If you ever want to hang out again," suddenly he realised how close Hannah's face was to his and he cleared his throat, "j-just let me know."

Hannah had been subconsciously moving closer to Clay as their goodbye drew near. As her heartbeat raced and the nerves reached her fingertips, her mind replayed images of their last and only kiss repeatedly.

 _Should I kiss him?_

 _Would he even want me to?_

 _Why would he after last time?_

The insecure thoughts mounted and the clamminess returned to her palms. As her hands began to tremble, so did her vision.

It wasn't until Clay's worried face came into view, that she heard his voice again, "Hannah, can you hear me?"

"Huh- sorry, I think I've got the start of a migraine or something," she gave him a brief smile to mask her worries.

"Are you sure you're okay to drive? I could walk you."

"Honestly, Clay, I'll be fine. Thanks though. Time to face the music, I guess." Hannah turned to her car.

"See you tomorrow?" Clay called out after her.

She looked over her shoulder and gave him a nod, "if my parents haven't killed me first."

* * *

 **As I said, mostly fluff but I felt it was about time you got some Clay/Hannah action. It may not have been what you hoped but as I've said before, things aren't just a walk in the park for these two.**

 **Did any of you guys get the feeling Clay was a little jealous of Tony? At least he knows now, huh?**

 **Thanks again for all the reviews, follows and favs. It really means so much to me**

 **Good morning, day or night wherever you are!**


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